A 60-meter-long spiral slide attached to the iconic Tsutenkaku Tower in the western Japan city of Osaka opened to the public Monday, giving riders a roughly 10-second thrill of going down on their backs while getting a view of the area.
The new attraction, named Tower Slider, takes people from the third floor of the observation tower at 22 meters above ground to the first basement floor. About 40 people lined up before the ride's opening at the 108-meter-high tower, a famous tourist spot with its surrounding area known for having a retro atmosphere.
Shingo Hayakawa, a 54-year-old man who was the first to ride the tube-shaped slide, said, "It was thrilling as I felt my body swirl."
Kaho Kitamura, a 23-year-old Osaka resident, also went down the slide lying on her back, with her legs placed inside a special bag provided by the venue.
The tube slide swirls around the elevator tower of Tsutenkaku, and its ceiling portion is transparent, allowing riders to catch a glimpse of the tower as well as the surrounding area. However, Kitamura said, "I had no time to enjoy the view."
She added she hopes that the ride would make the tower, a local landmark, more popular.
With the number of visitors to the tower in fiscal 2021 dropping to around 30 percent of that in fiscal 2019 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the tower's operator Tsutenkaku Kanko Co. is hoping the slide will be a "catalyst" for the local economy.
"We want to preserve this town and its tradition" by restructuring what is traditional with the changing times, said Ryuko Takai, the president of the Osaka-based company.
The original Tsutenkaku was built in 1912, inspired by the Arc de Triomphe and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. It was dismantled after a fire broke out in 1943 and was rebuilt in 1956, according to the operator.
